A/N: Update! Thanks for all the reviews so far, they're inspirational, and I love replying ;)

Chapter image by enchantedx@TDA, thanks!

A/N: I've been editing this story and so far, only chapter one is fully done, so be warned, all the other chapters are different to this one and, well, worse :P

August 1st. The air was heavy with moisture, the brown grass starved of water and the birds weren’t singing- instead, they’d flopped onto the nearest branch, keeling over from heat exhaustion. The county of Devon was currently experiencing a severe drought. In fact, most counties in the south were as well, Kent, Sussex and Cornwall to name a few. The British public was split into two halves- the sun worshippers who’d declined a holiday abroad due to the hot weather and the sun abhorrers, who stayed inside in favour of cool temperatures and air conditioning.

Sophie was a culmination of the two. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, she preferred the heat, the outdoors, the sweet smell of ice cream mingling with the scent of a nearby hydrangea. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, she stayed inside, surfing the internet on her computer, lounging around on her sofa (or more likely her friends’ sofas) and rereading her paperback copies of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The spines were covered in deep, white lines, betraying how abused and loved they were.

The first of August was a Thursday. ‘Nothing good ever happened on a Thursday,’ Sophie recalled. Not a few years ago did her school schedule for Thursday compromise solely of double maths, double chemistry and double physics. When she got lost in the local supermarket, that occurred on a Thursday, and the event made sure that she never wandered down the frozen foods aisle alone.

Currently, she was watching her neighbour Fred Weasley through her binoculars, handling a bulging bag of rubbish. Over the years, Sophie had noticed certain, ‘quirks’ about the Weasley family, from their boarding school which was curiously called Hogwarts, to their keeping of owls as pets. However, the reason why was shrouded in mystery, and also, if it were up to Sophie, a sparkly shrug, for she likes sparkly things. Therefore, an investigation was in order, and if there is one thing that Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous work of fiction had taught her, is that every great investigation starts with observation.

Observe the enemy. Know the enemy. Although, technically, the Weasleys weren’t the enemy. They were just an ordinary, but strange, family. And eccentricities were bound to be found in any family line, the Weasleys were no exception.

“Hiya Soph!” Freddie called genially, waving one arm, almost causing him to lose balance due to the sheer weight of the rubbish in his other hand, not that that broke the grin on his face. Sophie removed the binoculars from her eyes, wincing internally. Undercover work was trickier than it looked.

“What are you doing?” He asked curiously, one eyebrow raised. Sophie sighed, jealous at the show of talent, before shaking herself out of her brief stupor.

“Looking for albatrosses?” She answered with a non committal shrug of the shoulders. The lie had sprung forth from Sophie’s lips before she could stop it, and she heavily questioned its validity. It was all she could do to not gnaw on her inner cheek in apprehension.

“Don’t they only fly at sea?” Fred cocked his head slightly to the side. It was a sign of innocent interest.

“Yeah but...albatrosses have been known to fly over land areas, such as the one that we inhibit,”

“I wouldn’t have a clue, you’re the one studying Biology,” Fred chuckled lightly. “D’you wanna come over later, it’s just that, the new ‘Zombie Militia’ game arrived today. I’ve yet to play it and you do love your computer generated violence,”

“I was sold at ‘Zombie Militia’,” Sophie stated, a small smirk graced her features.

“Cool, I’ll see you around five then?”

“Yep, see you then Freddie,”

Sophie retreated back into her bedroom, sliding shut her window behind her. The wall was looking very attractive, smooth and flat, perfect conditions for head banging.

***

The Carter family were supposedly the most normal family one could meet. They compromised of Mr and Mrs Carter and their son Dexter and daughter Sophie. They lived in a 3 bed terrace house with a front garden and a back garden. Mr Carter worked in an office job for an insurance company. Mrs Carter was a housewife, a former minor model who spent most of her time cooking, cleaning and providing for her family. Dexter Carter was at university in America, studying psychology, whereas Sophie Carter was still in high school, studying Biology, French, English and Maths for her A-Levels with the hope of joining the Police Force and becoming a detective.

The Weasleys also had the perfect family set up with two parents and two children. They lived in the adjoining house to the Carters for the past 14 years. Mr Weasley ran a joke shop with his brother and Mrs Weasley was the captain of a women’s football team. Fred Weasley and Roxanne Weasley were still both in school; however, unlike Sophie who went to the local comprehensive, they attended a boarding school in Scotland.